[ Part I @ https://vamadevananda.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/journal-atharva-veda-part-i-29-2/ ]
Source :Hymns of the Atharva Veda [ 1895 ] by Ralph T.H. Griffith
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/av/av01034.htm
Vedas, Vedic Age and Vedic People : A Brief … contd
Vedas do not advocate any religion. It is a body of truth and practice, with a knowledge and belief system in accord, that projects the ” Sanatan ” way of life. It does not have a God apart from ourself, a Prophet for our exclusive salvation, an organised administrative structure headquartered in a particular place, a specific Book for veneration, and a plethora of rules with manned mechanism for watch and control over the laity.
The Vedas are panentheistic, the perspective concomiting with monism, which blows away the seeming idolatory in Vedic practice oft apparent to Western eyes. Even the proverbial ” beam in the eyes ” of the followers of both Christianity and Islam, when they actually worship the idols prominent in churches or the Black Stone in Ka’ba, is acceptable to a Sanatan practioner who sees all deistic, monotheistic or pantheistic, observations as so many means to arrive and subsume in the monistic unity.
No one can be converted into Hindu or Sanatan Dharma. One can only grow into it, through a long period of imbibing and internalisation : Sareeramadyam Khalu Dharmasadhanam. However, once the Vedic truths are instated in one’s reason and understanding, it is easy to subscribe to the way in practice, without having to obtain any approval or formal initiation.
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Contrary to what laymen, religious spokesmen and pundits in the West believe, Dharma does not translate into religion as Christianity or Islam conveys. It refers to a righteousness, of what is right and wrong, derived from perceived ” Eternal Living Principle ” converging on every heavenly system in the universe, each terrestial entity, body or life, and upon our very self. Dharma is everything that promotes life, beauty, balance, sustainability, harmony, abundance, growth and happiness. It is evident in nature, its natural functions and empowering processes, of which all being is manifest.
Dharma, to the Vedic people and Sanatan followers, means a codified art of living as individuals and being as a community. It purported to build upon nature, its beauty and wealth, a human order that would be in accord, that would institute a way of life which allowed animal fulfilments in civilised ways and constantly point to ways and means to excel at that, both personally and collectively. It raised the perspective and values system oriented towards ” Liberation for Self and Welfare of All,” ” The World is One Family,” … very dictums that guide the informed Hindu even today.
Dharma endeavours to mould and form human beings who would not sink into animal attitudes and behaviour in personal life or take to socially destructive conduct upon assuming power or authority of sorts, who would instead become, contribute and continue to tread the path of excellence all his life. Every feature and practice of the Vedic order was instituted with that purpose in context, especially the Gurukul education and internship system that fostered such values as respect for truth, justice, love, friendship, liberty, forgiveness, uprightness, honesty, sincerity, humility and self restraint.
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(9) A Charm To Accompany The Shaving Of Beard
BOOK VI HYMN LXVIII
( Lo ! ) Savitr is here with the razor
O Vāyu ! Come thou with hot water.
Let the one-minded Ādityas
Rudras and Vasus moisten the hair.
Shave ye, who know King Soma !
Let Aditi shave the beard
And let the Waters bathe it with their strength.
Let Prajāpati restore his health, good sight
And days extended over a long life !
This razor used by Savitr for shaving
The one who knows Varuna and the royal Soma
Even with this shave ye, O Brāhman
Let this man, the one who shaves
Be rich in horses, kine, and children.
(10) A Priest’s Benediction Upon Food
BOOK VI : HYMN LXXI
O Agni, the Hotr !
Make all that I eat
As sacrifice well-offered …
All food, of varied form and nature
Whether bought with gold
Or received as a gift …
Horse, sheep, goat or bullock.
Whatever … sacrificed or not
Bestowed by men
And sanctioned by the Fathers
That comes to me
Pleases and delights …
May Agni, the Hotr
Render as sacrifice well-offered.
O Gods !
Whatever I eat unjustly
Of food bestowed and received
With a measure of doubt
Whether to accept or refuse
That I now swallow…
May the greatness of Universal Being
– Vaisvaanara, the mighty
Make it sweet and blessed
To me.
(11) A Charm To Restore Or Increase Virile Power
BOOK VI : HYMN LXXII
As the black snake spreads himself at pleasure
Making wondrous forms …
So, with Asura’s potent consecration
Let the potion promptly make thy member
Vigorously correspond, limb to limb.
As the member of the tayadara inflates with the wind
Becoming as big as the member of the wild ass
So too, let thy member grow and become.
As much of a limb as is that of the wild ass
That of the elephant
And that of the domestic ass …
As great and vigorous as that of the horse
So too, let thy member grow and become.
(12) A Nuptial Benediction
BOOK VI : HYMN LXXVIII
Let this man be again bedewed
With this benedictory sacrifice we now offer
And comfort with the sap of life
The bride, whom is to marry him.
With life’s sap let him comfort her
And raise her high with princely sway
In wealth that has a thousand powers …
That, the couple be inexhaustible !
Tvashtr formed her to be thy dame
Tvashtr has made thee to be her lord.
Let Tvashtr give you both a long life.
Let Tvashtr give to you a thousand lives.
(13) A Prayer For Pardon For Cheating In Game
BOOK VI : HYMN CXVIII
If we have sinned with both our hands
Desiring to take the host of dice
To regain our loss …
May both Apsaras today forgive us that debt –
Ye, the one who brutally conquers
And ye, the one who is fierce to look at.
Ye, the stern viewers of sins !
Ye, who rule the people !
Forgive us for what happened as we gambled
And not urge us to pay the debt we owe to him
( nor leave us saddled with that burden upon us ).
For he was with a cord
To Yama’s kingdom.
My creditor, the man whose wife I visit
He, O Gods, whom I supplicated before …
Let not such men dominate me in speech.
O ye Apsaras duo, the gods’ consorts !
Mind this : let not the burden be upon us
Let not such men dominate me in speech.
(14) A Charm To Be Pronounced By Bride and Groom
BOOK VII : HYMN XXXVI
Sweet are the glances of our eyes
Our faces are as smooth as balm
Within thy bosom harbour me
For one spirit dwelleth in both of us !
(15) A Charm For Success And Happiness
BOOK VI : HYMN CXXIX
With fortune of the Sisu tree
With Indra as my friend to aid
I give myself a happy fate.
Fly and begone, ye Malignities !
That splendour and felicity
Wherewith thou hast excelled the trees
Give me therewith a happy fate.
Fly and begone, ye Malignities !
Blind fortune
With new leaves
Then deposited within the trees —
Give me therewith a happy fate.
Fly and begone, ye Malignities.
(16) A Woman’s Love Charm
BOOK VI : HYMN CXXX
This is the Apsaras’ love-spell
Conquering and irresistible.
Send the spell forth, ye Deities !
Let him be consumed
With his love for me.
I pray, may he remember me
Think of me as loving
And his beloved.
Send forth the spell, ye Deities !
Let him be consumed
With his love for me.
That he may think of me
That I may never, never think of him.
Send forth the spell, ye Deities !
Let him be consumed
With his love for me.
Madden him, O Maruts, madden him !
Madden him, madden him, O Vayu !
Madden him, O Agni, madden him !
Let him be consumed
With his love for me.
(17) A Young Man’s Love Charm
BOOK I : HYMN XXXIV
From honey sprang this plant to life;
with honey now we dig thee up.
Make us as sweet as honey
For, from honey hast thou been produced.
My tongue hath honey at the tip
And sweetest honey at its root :
Thou yieldest to my wish and will
And shalt be mine and only mine.
My coming in is honey-sweet
And honey-sweet, my going forth.
My voice and words are sweet.
I fain would be like honey, in my look.
Sweeter am I than honey
Yet more full of sweets than licorice :
So mayst thou love me, and only me
As a branch full of all the sweets.
Around thee have I girt
A zone of sugarcane
To banish hate.
That, thou mayst be in love with me
My darling, never to depart.
(18) A Woman’s Love Charm
BOOK VI : HYMN CXXXI
Down upon thee, from head to foot
I draw the pangs of love longing.
Send forth the charm, ye Deities !
Let him be consumed
With his love for me.
Assent to this, O Heavenly Grace !
Celestial Purpose, guide it well !
Send forth the charm, ye Deities !
Let him be consumed
With his love for me.
If thou shouldst run three leagues away
Five leagues, a horse’s daily stage
Thence shalt thou come to me again
And be the father of our children.
(19) A Man’s Love Charm
BOOK II : HYMN XXX
As the wind shake this tuft of grass
Hither and thither on the ground
So do I stir and shake thy mind
That, thou mayst be in love with me
My darling, never to depart.
Ye, Asvins ! Lead together and unitedly work
To bring us loving couple close, body and heart.
Now let us have the fortunes of you twain
The vows ye have for other
And your spirit when we meet.
When eagles, calling aloud, are screaming
With the joy of good health
Then let her come to my calling
As does the shaft
Attached to the arrow’s neck.
Let what is within me
Reach out to her
Let what reaches enter her within :
O Plant ! Seize and possess the mind
Of the maiden rich in every charm.
Seeking a husband she has come !
And I came longing for wife :
Even as a steed neighing loud
May I meet the fortune and good fate.
(20) A Woman’s Charm
BOOK VI : HYMN CXXXII
The philter that gods have poured
Within the bosom of the floods …
I heat the spell for thee
By Varuna’s decree
Burning with pangs
Of my love yearning for thee.
The charm which the gods have poured
Within the bosom of the floods
Burning with the pangs of my love …
That spell for thee I heat
By Varuna’s decree.
The philter which Indrāni has effused
Within the waters’ depth
Burning with the pangs of my longing …
That spell for thee I heat
By Varuna’s decree.
The charm, aglow with my longing
Which Indra and Agni have effused
Within the bosom of the floods …
That spell for thee I heat
By Varuna’s decree.
The charm aglow with my longing
Which Mitra and Varuna have poured
Within the bosom of the floods …
That spell for thee I heat
By Varuna’s decree.
(21) A Man’s Love Charm
BOOK III ; HYMN XXV
Let the Impeller goad thee on
May thou rest not in peace upon thy bed.
Terrible is the shaft of Love …
Therewith I pierce thee
Unto thy very heart.
That arrow winged with longing and my thought
… its stem, Desire; its neck, Resolve.
Let Kāma truly aim and shoot forth
And pierce thee
Into thy very heart.
The shaft of Kāma, pointed well
That withers and consumes the spleen.
With hasty feathers, all aglow …
Therewith I pierce thee
Unto thy very heart.
Pierced through
With fiercely burning heat
I steal to me
Gentle and humble
With thy parching lips
All mine own, devoted …
With sweet words of love.
I drive thee hither with a whip
Away from thy mother and sire
That thou mayst be at my command
And yield to every wish of mine.
O Mitra ! O Varuna !
Expel all thought and purpose
From her heart.
Deprive her of her own free will
And make her subject unto me.
(22) A Charm To Secure A Match For A Girl Of Age
BOOK II : HYMN XXXVI
O Agni ! Let her soon be happy
With a husband who, to please us
May show up
And be approved by wooers
Be respected in assemblies
And shines in congregations.
May such a suitor arrive
Seeking this maid
And bringing good fortune to us.
I work the bridal oracle
With God Dhātar’s truthfulness …
For bliss, beloved of Soma
Bliss, dear to Prayer
And bliss, gathered by Aryaman.
O Agni ! May this woman find a husband.
Then, verily, may King Soma make her happy.
May she bear sons
Be the chief lady of her household
Be blessed and bearing
And rule beside her consort.
As this lair, O Maghavan
That is now fair to look on
Was dear to wild things once
As a pleasant dwelling they owned …
So too, may this maiden here
Be a darling to Bhaga
Be loved by her lord
And be the prize
Of his coveting affection.
O Girl ! Mount up
Embark on Bhaga’s ship
The full, the inexhaustible …
And thereon bring hitherward to us
The lover whom thou would wed.
Call out to him, O Lord of Wealth !
Make thou the lover well inclined.
Set each on thy right hand
And send the one lover
Who is a worthy of her choice.
Here is the Bdellium and the gold
The Auksha and the bliss …
Bring these thee, O Girl
To the suitors assembled here
To find the man whom thou would have.
May Savitr lead and bring to thee
The husband whom thy heart desires.
O Plant, be this thy gift to her !
(23) A Woman’s Imprecation On Her Unfaithful Lover
BOOK VI : HYMN CXXXVIII
O Plant, thy fame is spread abroad
As best of all the herbs that grow !
Emasculate for me today this man
That he may wear the horn of hair.
Make him an eunuch with a horn
And set thou the crest mark
Upon his head.
Let Indra with two pressing stones
Deprive him of his manhood.
I have unmanned thee, eunuch !
Yea, impotent !
Made thee impotent
And robbed thee, o weakling !
Of thy strength.
Upon his head we set the horn
And we set the branching ornament.
Two of thy veins the gods have made
In which lie the vigor of a man.
I pierce those testicles of yours
With wooden studs
And take away their life
For that woman
Who has taken charge of you.
As a reed or cane is split
To make a mat
So do I split your wooden penis
Down to your testicles
For that woman to have.
Truth Within, Shines Without 
Reblogged this on Truth Within, Shines Without and commented:
Dharma, to the Vedic people and Sanatan followers, means a codified art of living as individuals and being as a community. It purported to build upon nature, its beauty and wealth, a human order that would be in accord, that would institute a way of life which allowed animal fulfilments in civilised ways and constantly point to ways and means to excel at that, both personally and collectively. It raised the perspective and values system oriented towards ” Liberation for Self and Welfare of All,” ” The World is One Family,” … very dictums that guide the informed Hindu even today.
Dharma endeavours to mould and form human beings who would not sink into animal attitudes and behaviour in personal life or take to socially destructive conduct upon assuming power or authority of sorts, who would instead become, contribute and continue to tread the path of excellence all his life. Every feature and practice of the Vedic order was instituted with that purpose in context, especially the Gurukul education and internship system that fostered such values as respect for truth, justice, love, friendship, liberty, forgiveness, uprightness, honesty, sincerity, humility and self restraint.